Silence
by I-Believe-In-The-Butterflies
Summary: A little one-shot Post Dearly Beloved. Ryan and Marissa. Ryan...centric? R&R.


Kursk gave me the inspiration to write this...so if you like it, you should tell her thanks. Thank you Kursk. You're the best reviewer ever!

I don't own the characters and such. My name is Jamie, not Josh.

And I wanted this to seem more realistic...I mean, if one of your siblings died, wouldn't you care? So...Enjoy! Thanks for giving my stories the time of day to read. I appreciate it so much. I write for you guys. Jamie (or J).

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1 Week 22 Hours and 45 Minutes After

Ryan sat in the Pool House. Alone. He hadn't talked much since what had happened. He didn't want to talk. He didn't want to feel. He didn't want to be alone, but that's where he was. Now it was 46 Minutes After.

That whole night played over in his mind like a broken record player. Over and over and over again. He wanted it to go away, and he wanted to pretend it never happened.

But it did.

And you can't change the past. He had heard that the first time on The Lion King, which was his favorite cartoon when he was younger. You can't change the past. But you can learn from it.

But what was there to learn? Inside, he knew that it was all his fault. He went to Miami. He left Marissa. He trusted Trey. And he put it past Trey not to do such a vile thing.

But even so, he missed Trey. No matter how much he might of hated him at that moment, at that time, he loved him before. He was his brother, after all.

And forgetting was out of the question. You can't forget stuff like that. It's impossible.

Seth had said once, that Aliens could come and swipe your memory, make you forget everything that ever happened. Right now, Ryan wished that he could believe such a insane concept. He wished that Seth was right. And he wished that the Aliens would do just that to him. But there were no spaceships hovering above.

And then he thought of Marissa. How much she was going through. And he missed her too. Not one word had passed between them since…it happened.

He didn't know what to say. Was he mad at her? Not that he could recall. It wasn't her fault. If Ryan had saw Trey doing the same thing to her, or Seth, or anyone he loved, he would've did the same thing. He would've shot his brother.

He felt guilty again. And the memories of him and Trey when they were younger came into his head.

"C'mon Ry, if I don't teach you this…who will?"

Trey had said that more than once. When Trey taught him to ride a bike with no training wheels. When Trey taught him to drive a car. When Trey taught him how to chug a beer. When Trey taught him how to steal a car. Oh God.

How was it that so much could happen in one simple day. It was 56 Minutes now.

And there was a gentle knock on the Pool House door. The blinds were closed. He didn't want to see the sun. And he knew it was Seth.

Seth stepped in, quietly, for once. The same look on his face. The same look that had been on his face for 1 Week 22 Hours and 58 Minutes.

"Hey." Ryan said.

"Hi." Seth responded. "I just wanted to tell you that I'm going over to Summer's house. And if you want to come…"

"No. Thanks though." Ryan tried to smile.

"Okay. If you need me, or anything. If you want to talk…Just call me okay? I've got my cell. And I'm sure Summer will have hers." He hated seeing Ryan like this. He hated how he never looked anything but sad anymore.

"Okay."

Seth turned to walk out.

"Seth?" Ryan asked shakily. Seth turned. "I'm trying. Just give me more time."

Ryan had saw through him, once again. "Okay. And…I'll try too." Then he headed out the door. Closing it ever so lightly.

Ryan leaned against the back of the chair he was sitting in. Once again, alone. And it's not that he really wanted to talk to anyone. He just wanted someone to be there. Someone who would just sit, and not say anything.

Sandy was quiet now. Hardly talking at all. In fact, he had been talking in one word sentences. Just like Ryan used to. When he first came. And felt lost. That must be what Sandy was feeling right now. And Ryan wanted to help him, save him, but he didn't know how. Sandy was the one who was always saving him. And Ryan couldn't stand the fact that Sandy even needed help. Or Kirsten for that matter. They were the good parents. The ones who were always right, and knew what to do. But he guessed, even the best parents in the world had problems. But he didn't want his parents to have problems. His parents? Had he really just thought that?

Another knock on the Pool House door. Seth was gone physically. Sandy was mentally gone at the moment. Who could it be.

Her.

Marissa stepped in. She was wearing her converse shoes, jeans, and a baby tee. He liked that look.

She stood awkwardly at the door. She didn't know what to do, what to say.

"Seth…brought me here…but he left, with Summer."

Ryan didn't speak.

She still stood awkwardly at the door.

Ryan didn't want to talk.

She walked over to him, next to his chair.

And he looked up at her.

He stood up. And she threw her arms around him. He didn't do anything. He just stood there. Motionless. But she kept on hugging. She wouldn't let go.

And he finally hugged her back. And put his forehead where her shoulder was. He finally let his stiff body go back to normal in her arms.

They didn't say a word. They didn't need to.

She was sorry. He knew that. And they both wanted things to go back to the way they were before. Before 1 Week 23 Hours and 12 Minutes ago.

But even before that, Trey had hurt her. And she was distant. So Ryan wished for things to go back to the way they were…before everything. He wanted the Ferris Wheel ride again. And the stupid party they had on the boat? He wanted that too.

But you can't change the past. You can only learn from it.

They let go after what seemed like forever.

And Ryan smiled. Once. He smiled.

That was enough for her.

Seth had said that Ryan hadn't smiled in forever.

She smiled too. And their hands intertwined.

They stood there, holding hands.

Ryan didn't want to talk.

Neither did she.

But they both knew…they couldn't change the past. They could only learn from it.

And starting over once again wouldn't hurt them. They had mastered it. And going slow wouldn't matter to either of them. Their lives were always going so fast…they wanted to go slow for once.

They could talk later. They could kiss later.

They had time. More than they could imagine. And this time, they would do it right. They would make each other better.

And then Ryan forgot that it had only been 1 Week 23 Hours and 37 Minutes ago that his brother's life had ended. Because he wasn't thinking of the past, and how he could change it…how he could wish it back.

He was thinking of the future…and how it would be better. How he would be happy.

Plus, why would anyone want to change the past? If he had changed anything that he really wanted to change…he wouldn't be standing with the most beautiful girl in the whole world. He wouldn't be in love with her either.

He finally realized that 1 Week 23 Hours and 42 Minutes was gone. And he like it that way.

Because he had to look forward.

She interrupted his thoughts by pushing their lips together. Gently. Sucking on his bottom lip. Tasting each other's mouths.

Talking could wait.

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SO what did you think? Was it good? I tried. I really did. I wanted to capture real emotions. Review and tell me what you thought! Thanks...you guys...ROCK! LoL.


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